Recently in the month of May 2013,Jag Lata arrived
at Dubai Drydocks for her scheduled
docking and repairs.The vessel departed from the yard after completion of her
repairs on 10th June 2013 when she had two “ first” to her credit.
She is the first vessel in the
Gesco fleet to be retrofitted with a Mewis Duct.This is a fuel saving device supplied by M/S Becker
Marine which is fitted on the vessel’s stern forward of the
propeller and is custom designed for
each individual vessel .The total cost of fitting this component was USD 350,000. As per the makers,the achievable
power savings from the Becker Mewis Duct® are strongly dependent on propeller
thrust loading, from 3% for multi-purpose ships up to 8% for tankers and
bulkers. The actual savings in fuel consumption
will now be monitored during the
vessel’s subsequent loaded and ballast
voyages.
This is also the first vessel in our fleet to be fitted with
the new improved design of on - load
release assembly ( hooks ) complying
with the latest IMO regulations. Due to numerous lifeboat accidents during drills, IMO has upgraded the
requirement for hooks of lifeboats. As the lifeboat hooks
on Jag Lata did
not meet the new criteria and a hook renewal was
scheduled during the drydocking , it was decided to upgrade the existing arrangement with the new
modified Tor MK2 hooks supplied by the boat makers Norsafe.. All vessels in our fleet will have to get their
existing hooks evaluated as per IMO guidelines and then go in for a upgrade of this component of the lifeboat latest by 1st July 2019.All new
construction vessels with keel laid after 1st July 2014 will
henceforth be provided with lifeboat
hooks as per this regulation.
During the final completion stages of the repairs on 8th
June 2013 , the Managing Director Mr B.K.Sheth
paid a visit to the vessel .He
ended his short visit with a very
interactive session with all officers and crew
which was a morale booster for all
persons on board.
